To Be or Not To Be

Honestly and without bias, with no party preferences, whether male or female, conservative or liberal or moderate, using only your objective senses, who, among the presidential candidates, has the best profile to occupy the White House? Whom would you like to see as commander-in-chief, as exalted leader of this powerful nation in January of 2013?

I bet you have never heard of Roger Gary, of Stewart Alexander, Gary Johnson, or of Fred Karger; yet, all of them have the absolute right to compete in the 2012 election, even though none of them has the slightest chance of winning the coveted position. There are quite a few more names but it would be tedious to name them all since the national media will not waste any air time on them. I will therefore stick to those whose names appear daily in newspapers and television programs.

1. Mitt Romney

Admittedly, Mr. Romney does have the presence and intelligence to become President. He speaks well in public and has a certain charm that appeals to ladies. Against him: his religion, which the more popular Protestant churches view with suspicion. Also against him: his constant changes of position on crucial issues, including of course his Obamacare-type of health insurance in Massachusetts which he now says cannot be applied to every state.

2. Rick Perry

Another male candidate with physical presence and good masculine looks, the way we imagine our President must look like compared to other heads of state (of course, it could well be a lady with a strong personality). In his favor, a relatively low unemployment rate in Texas, ten years as chief executive which means he is quite electable, a strong Christian with conservative values and an avowed enemy of big government. Against him: some of his more extreme views (Social Security as a Ponzi scheme, term limits for the Supreme Court judges) may alienate quite a few more moderate voters.

3. Ron Paul

Extreme ideas as a libertarian and much too old to be elected (he is 75), Mr. Paul knows he can't win;
 he only wants his suggestions to have a large audience, hoping that some of them will be taken up by the winning candidate.

4. Sarah Palin

Even though she has the best name recognition in the country and though she hasn't thrown her hat into the ring yet, Ms. Palin is the subject of some national polls. Strangely enough, she fared the worst when compared with President Obama. Mitt Romney and Rick Perry on the other hand stood neck and neck with the Chief Executive among probable voters. It doesn't seem possible for her to overcome the leading Republicans and get the nomination of her party.

5. Michele Bachmann

Another lady who has struck hard in the preference of tea party members, Ms. Bachmann apparently only attracts the more extreme voters. She won't get the nomination because she fails to attract moderates, but her influence in the campaign will certainly be felt. Vice-President??

6. Newton Gingrich

A fighter and a strong debater, Mr. Gingrich, just like Ms. Bachmann, seems set on earning a position on the winning ticket, whether as Secretary of State or chief of staff in the White House. He won't become president, but his intelligence and wide experience could be exploited by whoever ends up on top.

7. Jon Huntsman

If you read my article on Mr. Huntsman published a few days ago, you'll know that he is my favorite by far as a future leader of this country. He is smart, good looking, and has the credentials in the Far East to deal with any crisis that may emerge from China. He may not win because he is too nice, too polite toward his opponents. If we compared him to a boxer, I would say that he doesn't have the killer instinct. He doesn't debate well and speaking in public requires firing up the crowd, a skill he does not possess. Yet I am convinced that he would make the best President.

I now ask you, my occasional readers, to given your opinion in this very informal poll. Thank you!

Huntsman

I really like Mr. Huntsman, although I regret the fact that he cannot impress his audience when giving a speech. He comes across as soft-spoken, as a moderate, as a nice guy; you know what they say about nice guys coming in last. Obama sent him to China probably because of Huntsman's tact and able diplomacy (Chinese leaders are very sensitive to "losing face".) In this cutthroat political competition, however, being nasty and cunning may well earn you the nomination.



Mr. Huntsman (I'll forgo the nobility titles of Governor and Ambassador since he is presently neither) looks like a president and has the needed executive resume as head of Utah's government; he also has a taste of the private sector which he acquired in his family's business the Huntsman Corporation. He has the right age, 51, and the wrong religion, Mormon. He worked in Taipei (Taiwan) for a year as a missionary, and it seems that he and his wife decided to adopt two children in 1999 and 2006. His family is a composite of various religions, his wife is Episcopalian and his kids went to Catholic schools. A perfect picture of the United States great variety of faiths.

When studying his personal history, there is no doubt he comes across as a good man who not only talks, but also walks the talk. For some reason, the image of Jimmy Carter emerges and we all know what kind of President he was. Given the evils of this world, could Mr. Jon Huntsman pull the trigger if necessary? That is the question that will come up sooner or later in the debates and in the political columns of influential media.

One point in his favor: He is not afraid to go against his Republican party, as he did during his tenure as governor. So may be there is a big, strong backbone in Mr. Huntsman's body, a quality that is not always present in President Obama's decisions. He has been outspoken regarding his belief in science's theories about climate change and evolution, unlike Mr. Perry who stated, wrongly, that Texas teaches both creationism and evolution. Religious beliefs, because creationism is strictly a belief and not a product of scientific research, have no business in schools. Let churches take care of that.





Mr. Huntsman's personal and professional experience in the Far East makes him an ideal candidate to deal with the rising power of China. None of the other candidates has such polished background in foreign affairs. I shudder to think what Michelle Bachmann would do when confronted with a North Korean crisis; ditto for Mrs. Palin, Mr. Cain, and especially Mr. Paul who favors total isolation of the U.S. The only candidate who has a similar experience is Newton Gingrich and we know that he won't get the nomination.

If the ex-governor of Utah is capable of making his name familiar to all American families, there is no doubt in my mind that he will compete a year from now with Mr. Obama. Right now, his main "enemy" is another governor, Mr. Rick Perry.

It all comes down to which Republican candidate is capable of defeating the incumbent President, a formidable foe who campaigns better than anybody else.

No "God" Please

Michele Bachmann is proud of her beliefs in a Christian God, as opposed to a Muslim, a Buddhist, or a atheist. As an Evangelical Christian, she takes every opportunity to remind people that God exists and that God intervenes in our affairs on a frequent basis. Her recent comment, however, that God moved hurricane Irene to the East Coast to send us a message and rein in our spending was not well received by most Americans. She says it was a joke; but the underlying essence of that comment is frightening, as frightening as George Bush telling us that God had told him to invade Iraq. When politicians start implying that they have a direct link to the Almighty, I start having serious doubts about the future of this country.



It wasn't the first time Mrs. Bachmann mentioned God in a political context; she insisted that God had "told" her to run for the 6th Congressional district and even went fasting for 3 days to "confirm" it.
She won with 50% of the votes thanks to heavy financial support from an evangelical organization run by a Mr. Dobson. Talk about the separation of Church and State, a concept evolved from the
First Amendment of our constitution which prohibits laws that may favor a specific official religion.

Granted, most Americans are Christians who believe in Jesus Christ and the Holy Trinity. But as a country that respects the right not to believe at all in some supernatural being, and the right to follow any other sect or set of beliefs, no matter how outlandish they may be, we must observe with concern the emergence of politicians who act more as preachers than laymen or laywomen.

What makes America great is precisely its marvelous constitution written by learned and enlightened men (no women alas) who clearly wanted to avoid any of the religious and political pitfalls of European nations. Religions in general are the direct causal factor of millions of victims and hundreds of wars. One can argue that gods do not start conflicts, men do. Indeed, but tell that to Osama (his ghost anyway) or to the mullahs in Iran who ask their faithful brethren to kill the unbelievers.

We must be very careful not to elect candidates who wrap themselves in religious exhortations and who pretend to have a direct communication with the Creator. We lost thousands of soldiers in Iraq and billions of dollars which disappeared in the maws of corruption, thanks to Bush's secret ties with his maker.

We could have done so much if these huge sums of money had been invested in jobs, education, and infrastructure here, in the U.S.

How many teachers could we pay with one budget day spent on Iraq and Afghanistan?

No, Mrs. Bachmann, I doubt very much that you will succeed in your quest for the White House. American citizens tend the shy away from extremists, whether from the right or the left.